Mandie and the Christmas She Never Forgot
by LovetheLORD
Summary: Mandie is going home for Christmas. But when she gets home unexpected things happen. Mysterious pits, a mysterious man. Could they all be linked to the disappearance of Joe?
1. Chapter 1 Home for the Holidays

**Here is the first chapter of my fanfic! I hope everyone likes it!**

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It was around four o'clock in the afternoon and Mandie and Celia were getting the rest of their things to go to the train station. It was one week until Christmas, and Mandie was going home for the holidays and Celia's mother had let her spend time with Mandie's family. Mandie hurriedly shoved a few more dresses into a suit case, not bothering to be neat for the first time in a long while as she could barely contain the excitement that was enveloping her.

"I can't wait to see everyone!" Mandie exclaimed. "It feels like ages since I've seen them all, Sallie, Dimer, Uncle Ned, Morningstar, Uncle John, Mother, Grandmother, Dr. Woodard, Mrs. Woodard, Joe..." Mandie sighed with a far off look in her eyes, one that Celia felt like she hadn't seen in a while. Mandie no longer talked of Joe much and Celia suspected that it was because Mandie had feelings for another boy named George.

Celia was silent for a moment before smirking ever so slightly and looking over at her friend with a teasing twinkle in her eye. "I bet you want to see Joe the most don't you?" the auburn haired girl teased slyly.

Mandie's cheeks suddenly turned very red and she looked down at her dress. She wasn't entirely sure why she had blushed, she was used to Celia teasing her but somehow at the moment it felt different. "I do not! I want to see everyone else just as much as him! And maybe even more!" Mandie insisted with a huff. Celia giggled at her friend and shook her head gently.

"Ok, ok, don't get so offended! I was only teasing," Celia answered with a shrug of her shoulders. She bent down to pick up a dress that was lying on the floor, her hair falling in her face as she did so.

Mandie sent a worried glance in her best friend direction. "I'm sorry Celia. I guess I'm just a little over excited about going home. When I get over excited, I get jumpy," Mandie apologized. "I just feel the need to get out of college. It's too stressful." She sighed longingly.

"It's alright Mandie. I understand why your so excited and overly hyper. Christmas is a wonderful time of year, yet it can be very stressful," Celia pointed out with a slight not of her head. She paused for a moment as a thought came to her mind. "Jonathan won't be here this time with he?"

"No, he won't. He visiting relatives," Mandie answered with a shake of her head, her blonde hair flying out of place. "But perhaps Robert will be there," she said casually, pretending to not tease Celia.

Celia blushed and smiled slightly. "Alright you got me back!" She suddenly happened to look up at the clock. "Oh my goodness! Look at the time! We have to leave for the train station in fifteen minutes. Better hurry!" Mandie nodded her head quickly and began stuffing the last of her clothes into her suitcase.  
They continued to pack their clothes, and belongings. Mandie was packing the last of her clothes, when suddenly she stopped. "Celia," she began. "We don't have any ball gowns!"

"Hmmm...Um, why don't we pick our fanciest dresses and use those," Celia answered. Mandie glanced at her nicest dress, one that her grandmother had gotten for her.  
"Okay. Um, there is one down side though; Polly is going to be there!" Mandie said. "And she always has the best dresses!" Mandie crossed her arms and began to pout like a little child, which on the inside, she truthfully still was even though she believed herself to be more grown up than she had ever been.  
"Mandie, are you always going to be in competition with Polly? Why don't we just have fun at the Christmas Ball and not worry about Polly," Celia suggested. Celia turned over to her friend with a kind look sparkling in her green eyes. Mandie sighed and shook her head gently.  
"But it's not me! She always wants competition," Mandie protested. She giggled quietly and shook her head once more. " Alright, you're right. I'm not acting very mature right now. I am nineteen after all. I'm sorry. And who knows? Maybe Polly will have changed," Mandie said with a shrug. She glanced through her clothes and pulled out a lavender dress with white rose buds lining the bottom rim and white lace lining the collar and the rims of the sleaves.

"That one is very pretty! I'm going to take this one," Celia said. Her dress was light green with spring pink rosebuds across the collar and a white ribbon went across the middle. Mandie smiled and nodded at her friend aprrovingy."Alright, now that we're done packing let's go down stairs and wait for my Uncle John," Mandie answered. They ran down the stairs to the waiting room waited for Mandie's uncle. Then they heard the sound of horses outside, and Mandie looked out the window. Her Uncle John was getting out of the rig. "He's here!" Mandie exclaimed, as she jumped up. Celia followed her out of the room.

"Amanda! How have you been?" Uncle John asked, and they embraced.

"I am fine. How is Mother, and the twins?" she asked.

" They are doing fine," he answered. "It feels like it has been forever since I last saw you! It feels like, it was, last summer."

"I think that it was last summer," Mandie giggled.

"Oh, I forgot," he laughed.

Celia was standing behind them unnoticed until she came and taped Mandie on the shoulder. "Um, Mandie, I think that it would be best if saved the talking for later and got to the train station," she said quietly.

"Alright come on girls, we don't want to miss our train," Uncle John said, and hurried them out the door.

When they got into the rig Mandie asked, "Is everyone already at the house?"

"Yes everyone except Sallie, and Dimer they will be arriving in a few days," he answered.

As they drove Mandie was admiring the beautiful Christmas decorations. She could see Christmas trees through the windows of houses and beautiful ornaments. There was one house that they passed by that had a wreath on the door almost as tall as half of Mandie's body! In some places she saw small patches of snow. The sky was getting dark and snowflakes were beginning to fall. As it got darker, Mandie watched as people lit little candles in their windows. This was Mandie's favorite time of year. It always made her so happy. When they arrived at the train station even it was decorated for Christmas, and since the train itself was red and green it almost seemed to be decorated for Christmas!

Right as they were about to get on the train, Mandie saw George Stuart coming her way. She waited a minute for him to reach her. "Mandie!" he called. "I wanted to say good-bye to you before you left. I'm going to miss you," he said. Mandie blushed.

"Well, I'll be back after the holidays," Mandie said. "I'll miss you to though. Now I have to go!" she said quickly turning and jumping on the train. As the train started, George yelled something after her. But she couldn't hear everything that he said over the noise of the train. What she heard was, "I...will...your house!" But that was all she heard. _"Hmm. I wonder what that was about,"_ Mandie thought.

Later on the train they had their supper in a beautiful dinning car. It had red carpet on the floor and beautiful, sparkling chandeliers with electric lights. Inside the dinning car there was a Christmas tree. Mandie couldn't wait until they set up their tree. The ride though was rough and it was hard to get to sleep, but they finally managed to drift off. As Mandie was nearly asleep she asked in a sleepy tone, "Uncle John what time are we going to be in Franklin?"

"We will be there by 9:00am tomorrow," he answered.

"Okay," Mandie said yawning, and soon, she fell asleep.

She awoke hours later to Celia shaking her saying, "Mandie wake up! Wake up sleepy-head, we're here!"

Okay! Okay! I'm awake!" she said pushing Celia away. "Come on Celia let's get our bags and get off this train before it leaves with us in it!" Mandie said grabbing her bags.

"Your Uncle John and Abraham have a rig out there waiting for us. Come on! This train is leaving in one minute," Celis said. She ran to the front of the train, Mandie following behind. They got off of the train just in time too, the train left twenty seconds after they got off.

"What took you two so long? I was about to come in there and get you!" Uncle John said.

"Sorry, it took a little while to wake Mandie up," Cellia explained.

"Oh I see, little-miss-sleepy-head didn't want to wake up, is that right?" he teased. Mandie crossed her arms.

"Well why don't stop talking about me being a sleepy-head and change the subject," Mandie said, pretending to be offended.

"Okay, um... Ah! So Abraham, how are you and Jenny doing?" Celia asked.

"We be doin' just fine. How you and Miss Mandie be doin'?" Abraham answered.

"We're doing good," Mandie answered. "I'm glad that everything has been going good. I just wish we were at home right now."

As they went on Mandie noticed that there wasn't any snow on the ground. There usually was snow this time of year. Mandie started thinking of the Christmas ball so that she could pass the time until they got home. She began to say something about the Christmas ball.

"I am excited for the.. Oh Celia! There is everyone waiting for us on the veranda!" Mandie exclaimed pointing. As soon as she spotted Joe, she jumped out of the rig, almost before it had stopped.

"Joe!" Mandie called. He turned and ran to her.

"I've missed you so much Mandie! Have you caused any trouble at college?" he asked, with a sly grin.

"I've missed you too. And, no I haven't caused _much_ trouble at college," she answered. "Have you found any knew mysteries to solve?"

"No, remember you're the one that finds all the mysteries, I just help solve them," Joe answered.

"I don't find them, they find me!" Mandie insisted. Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew past all of them.

"Brrr! It's getting cold out here!" Celia shivered.

"Yeah, it is pretty cold out here," Mandie replied, wrapping her arms around herself.

"And it looks like it is going to snow. Look at the sky," Joe said pointing up. Mandie nodded.

"Let's go inside and say hi to everybody else," Mandie said walking up the steps.

Mandie saw her mother and how pretty she looked. _"She always looks beautiful,"_ Mandie thought. _"But this time she looks exceedingly beautiful!"_ Her mother had a white dress on with red ribbon, and her blond hair pulled-back hair glistened brightly.

"Amanda! How are you? I've missed you so!" her mother said embracing her.

"I'm doing good. Where is Snowball?" Mandie asked looking behind her mother.

"He is inside. Come on in. It's quite chilly out here," Elizabeth said.

Once they got inside, Mandie noticed that something was not right. "Mother, where are Carl and Carol? I don't see them."

"Oh they are at a neighbors house, and they will be back in a few days," her mother answered.

As they walked in, Uncle John told them, "Tomorrow we are going to get a Christmas tree. How does that sound?" Mandie was very happy to hear that. Getting the Christmas tree was probably one of her favorite things to do on Christmas. Oh how wonderful it was to be home!

After a chorus of hoorays, they went into the parlor and sat down. Mandie was surprised to see that Tommy and Robert were there, and Celia was equally surprised. Mandie tried not to laugh when she saw Celia blushing red as an apple. But she couldn't really laugh at Celia, because she felt slightly uncomfortable herself. Everyone was there except, Sallie, Dimer, and Jonathan. And Jonathan wasn't going to be there that week.

"I wish that Jonathan was going to be here," Mandie thought out loud. Joe glared at her. Just then Tommy stood up and walked over to Mandie.

"Hello Mandie," Tommy greeted her. "How are you this fine winter day?"

"I am fine. How are you Tommy? I wasn't expecting you to be here," Mandie answered, thinking just how well him and Joe were going to get along. Mandie turned as she saw Robert walk over to Celia.

"Hi Celia. I am glad to see you here. You are looking quite lovely today." Celia blushed.

"Thank you," she answered shyly. Mandie watched as Robert sat down next to Celia. They started talking to each other and then Mandie noticed that they didn't look nervous around each other anymore.

As they were talking, Snowball walked into the room, and as soon as he saw his mistress he jumped onto her lap and purred.

"Hello Snowball," Mandie said softly. "Did you miss me while I was gone?" she asked petting his soft white fur. The cat meowed in reply.

While they were all in the middle of conversations, Elizabeth stood up. "May I have your attention please?" she asked. Everyone looked up. "Tomorrow, we are going to start the preparations for the Christmas ball. I have invited Mrs. Cornwallis and her daughter Polly Cornwallis to come and help." Joe, Mandie, and Celia frowned.

Mandie was talking to Celia about the Christmas ball, when Liza came in and announced the noon meal. As Mandie was walking out of the parlor Liza asked, "How come yo didn't come visit in de kitchen?"

"I am sorry Liza, I didn't really get a chance. As soon as we came in I had to go into the parlor" Mandie apologized.

"It's ok missy. But yo better watch out. That miss sweet thang is gonna get your Joe," Liza warned.

"Don't worry Liza, I will. But I am not really worried about her," Mandie said. Liza nodded. She followed them out and immediately began helping with the meal.

When they had filled their plates, they all sat down. Mandie was seated in between Celia and Joe. When she looked over at Joe, she noticed that he was glaring at Tommy. _"Oh no! Here we go!"_ Mandie thought. She wouldn't worry about it. If Joe didn't stop then she knew that he wouldn't make a the right husband for her. And anyway, she wasn't even married to him yet. Of course he'd have some reason to act like this if they were married. She just shook her head and began eating. There was a lot of conversations going on at the table and Mandie was happy to be a part of them.

Once they had finished eating, Mandie, Celia, Joe, Tommy, and Robert decided to go outside. They started asking each other what would be the best thing to do. It was pretty cold so they would have to do something that would keep them warm.

"We could build a fort," Joe suggested. They shook there heads. It would take to long and there wasn't enough material.

"Or we could explore the woods," Celia said. They thought about that but Mandie suggested they think of at least on more thing.

"Well, how bout we have a competition to see who can find the most interesting and mysterious things!" Mandie exclaimed.

"But how are we going to show each other what we found if it is too big to carry back?" Tommy asked. Mandie thought about it for a moment.

"We won't carry it back. We can draw a picture of it and show that to the judge." Mandie told them. "Can one of you get paper and pencils?" she asked.

"I will!" Joe and Tommy chorused.

"Okay. Joe you get the paper, Tommy you get the pencils." Mandie instructed, and the two ran off to the house.

"All right one of us is going to have to be judge. Do either of you want to be judge?" Mandie asked.

"I'll be judge." Celia offered.

"Ok, then we just have to wait for Tommy and Joe." Mandie said.


	2. Chapter 2 Mysterious Pits

**Trying to update fast. :) Hope that this was fast enough.**

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As soon as the Joe and Tommy got back they went on their hunt. They all went separate ways, so as not to find the same thing. All of the things that they found were quite interesting. Joe, found a leaf fossil. Which I'll add, are very rare. Tommy found an eagles nest. Robert found a tree shaped like a chair, and it even had branches shaping armrests! And last, Mandie found a very, very, deep pit about ten feet deep!

They all drew pictures of what they had found as best as they could, and then brought them to Celia. She took them and looked at them for a while. After about ten minutes she decided. "All of the things that you found were very interesting, and it pretty hard to choose just one for first place. But I have finally decided. Third place goes to Tommy. Second to Joe and Robert. I just really couldn't decide which was better. And winner is Mandie," Celia confirmed. Joe smiled with triumph as he looked at Tommy.

"All right, since that is all finished," Mandie began. "Do y'all want to see what each other found in person?" They all nodded and agreed to do that. They first went to the one that Tommy found, and Joe climbed up high enough to almost touch the eagle's nest.

"Bet you couldn't do that!" Joe yelled down to Tommy from the top of the tree. Mandie smiled as she let out a sigh and shook her head.

After that they went to the tree that Robert found. They stayed there for a moment and used the tree as a throne.

"Mandie shall be the queen," Celia said.

"In that case, I will be the king," Joe said, stepping up beside Mandie.

"No you do not have to do that. I think I will be the king," Tommy said pushing Joe away.

"Ok, then. I will not be the queen. Celia shall be queen. I will be her royal servant, and Robert will be king," Mandie said. Tommy and Joe frowned and crossed their arms. Mandie shook her head and frowned.

Last, they went to what Mandie had found. They were all amazed at the depth of the pit. They looked down into it and they could almost not see the bottom, because of the cloud filled sky.

"See? Look at how deep this is! It looks like it is ten or eleven feet deep!" Mandie exclaimed.

"Wow Mandie! I thought that you were exaggerating just to win, since it is a little bit hard to draw a pit, but you weren't exaggerating at all!" Celia exclaimed.

"Yeah Mandie how did you find it?" Joe asked.

"I just looked," Mandie answered. "But I wonder who dug it. And why they dug it in our woods," Mandie wondered.

"Oh no! Here we go again. Looks like Mandie has another mystery to solve!" Joe said. "And let me guess, you want all of us to help, including me? Did I guess right?"

"Yup, you sure did!" Mandie answered. "Uh-oh! It's starting to snow. We'd better get back."

They turned around and went back to the house as fast as they could. They quickly went inside and took off their coats, hats, and gloves. They started walking into the parlor when a delicious spell met their noses. It spelled just like chocolate cake. They ran into the parlor to see if they were correct. Just as they had suspected there sitting on the parlor table was a beautiful chocolate cake.

"Chocolate cake!" Mandie and Joe exclaimed together. They walked into the parlor and sat down grabbing a slice as they went. "If there is anything it the world that I could never get tired of, it's chocolate cake," Mandie said. Joe nodded. "Me too." They started eating their cake and then after they had finished they stayed in parlor and hung out. Mandie looked out the window. The snow was falling fast, and the sky was almost dark, even though the sun had not set yet.

"The snow is falling fast out there. I hope that it stops soon, or we might not be able to get a Christmas tree tomorrow," Mandie said disappointedly.

"Yeah I do to, but it sure is pretty," Celia said gazing out the window.

"It is pretty, I know. But if it keeps up we also won't be able to find out who dug that pit," Mandie said.

They sat looking out of the window for a long while, when the snow finally stopped falling.

"Oh look Mandie! It looks like the snow is letting up a bit!" Celia exclaimed.

"Good!" Mandie said. "I hope that it doesn't start again, because I at least want to be able to go back and figure out who dug that pit," Mandie said hopefully.

"Do we have to come with you?" Joe asked.

"Yes! You sure do! And when Sallie and Dimer get here, that is if we haven't solved it by then, I'll want them to help," Mandie stated.

"I'll be glad to help," said Tommy.

"Thank you Tommy," Mandie answered smiling.

When Joe saw this he stood up and walked over to Mandie. "Well, I guess that it wouldn't be so bad to come. Besides, you will need someone to protect you."

"Well now at least you are coming Joe. What about you two?" Mandie asked Celia and Robert.

"I think that it would be fun to help solve a mystery," Robert said.

"And you know what my answer is every time Mandie. I'll always help with your mysteries," Celia answered.

"I know Celia. I can always count on you," Mandie said. "Celia, I am going up to our room to unpack my clothes. Do want to come?" asked Mandie.

"Sure," Celia answered standing. She followed Mandie up the stairs to their room. They grabbed their bags off of the bed. Mandie opened the wardrobe. They already had some dresses in there.

 _"I wish we had different dresses for the Christmas ball,"_ Mandie thought. _"Polly always has the best dresses! Oh well, the best thing is to have fun."_ She continued to unpack her clothes and hang them in the wardrobe. Then she pulled out her ball gown. Well not really a ball gown, just her prettiest dress. It was a bright blue dress with long flowing sleeves, and ruffles at the bottom. But Mandie still wasn't very happy with it. She knew that Polly would have some beautiful _real_ ball gown. But Mandie didn't let that bother her right now. The ball was still a week away. Mandie finished unpacking her cloths and stood up. Celia finished packing as well and they headed back down the stairs.

A few minutes after they got back into the parlor, Liza came in and told them to come out for the noon meal. "Hey Missy Manda, has dat miss sweet thang showed up yet?" Liza whispered.

"No not yet, but I don't think that she is coming until tomorrow," Mandie answered.

They filled their plates and sat down at the table. They began eating. Now was Mandie's chance to tell everyone about the new mystery she had found.

"Hey guess what I found today?" Everyone stopped eating and looked up. "I found a pit ten or eleven feet deep!"

"Are you sure that you really aren't exaggerating a little bit?" Elizabeth asked.

"No she isn't Mrs. Shaw," Celia said. "She showed it to us. Right guys?"

"Yeah she did, and she thinks that it is a big mystery," Joe answered.

"I do not!" Mandie protested.

"Well we will see," Elizabeth answered. They continued to eat, and then Mandie began to think. _"Why does Joe always have to be so obnoxious? He knows that I don't like it when he does that."_

When everyone had finished eating the young ones went into the parlor to talk.

"Joe," Mandie began. "I didn't like what you said about me thinking that it was a big mystery,"

"Sorry Mandie, it was just a joke. But do we really have to solve every silly little mystery that you find?" Joe asked.

"Yes we do!" And if you don't want to help then don't!" Mandie almost shouted. "Come on guys let's go somewhere else." They followed Mandie out of the room.

"But Mandie. Wait!" Joe said. But they had already gone.

They went into the sunroom and sat on the couches.

"Mandie are you sure that wasn't a little harsh?" Celia asked.

"No I don't. He doesn't need to say things like that!" Mandie answered.

"Well can you at least apologize?" Celia said.

"No!" Mandie answered.

"Then I am leaving. Good night Mandie!" Celia said, and threw her head up and walked out of the room.

"Um. I think I will go with Celia," Robert said standing.

"Yeah, I am a little bit tired, so I think that I will go up to my room," Tommy said. When they left the room Mandie sighed. "Maybe I should apologize to him. But it is a little bit late now so I think that I will go to my room." She got up and left the sun room.

"Celia I am sorry for the outburst. I am going to apologize to him in the morning," Mandie said.

"Okay, but let's go to bed now," Celia answered. They changed into their nightgowns and jumped into the bed. Snowball curled up beside Mandie and they went to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3 Who Was That Man?

Celia woke Mandie up that morning. It was a bright clear morning. It had snowed all night, but it had stopped early in the morning. She sat up. Snowball started scratching at her hair. "Stop it Snowball!" Mandie said pushing the cat away. "You're probably hungry. I'll take you down to the kitchen," Mandie said picking him up. "Celia what time is it?"

"It's 6:30am," Celia answered. She walked over to the wardrobe and pulled out a green wool dress. "it looks like it is going to be cold today. Better dress warm."

"Okay!" Mandie said yawning. Mandie took a red dress and slipped her nightgown off and folded it up neatly on the bed. She pulled the dress on and buttoned it down the back. She stood in front of the mirror and combed out her hair. She braided it down her back in long plates. "Alright! I am done." Celia had just finished brushing her long auburn hair.

"I am too," Celia said. "Are you going to apologize to Joe like you promised?"

"Yes, I know that I shouldn't have acted like that. It was so childish!" Mandie answered. She scooped up Snowball and opened the door. She stepped out into the hall. It was empty but she smelled the aroma of food cooking. She walked down the stairs into the kitchen. "Mmmm! I'm starving she exclaimed putting Snowball on the ground.

"It be ready in a minute! Now scoot!" Aunt Lou said pushing Mandie out the door. Mandie laughed. She turned and bumped into Joe.

"Hey Joe," Mandie said. "I am sorry about the way I acted yesterday. I know that I shouldn't act like that."

"I forgive you Mandie. I'm sorry about what I said to," Joe said. Mandie rapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. Joe patted her back. "Alright I think that breakfast is ready."

"Okay," Mandie answered. She walked over into the dinning room. She filled her plate and sat down next to Celia. Celia looked at her with a questioning look. Mandie nodded and smiled. After her uncle thanked God for the food, she began eating. After breakfast there was a knock on the door. Elizabeth went over and answered it. It was Mrs. Cornwallis and Polly. Mandie groaned when she saw her. "Polly," she said under her breath. But what Polly did next greatly surprised Mandie. She walked up to Mandie and gave her a hug!

"Oh Mandie I have missed you so!" she said. "I was so excited when your mother invited us to the Christmas ball! How have you been?"

"I've been doing good," Mandie said awkwardly. Polly, being _nice_?

"I love your dress! It's so new fashion!" Polly exclaimed.

"Thanks," Mandie said. "But I am sure yours is the latest of fashion, right?"

"Oh no! I think yours is the prettiest! It's positively adorable!" she said. "Is Tommy here? I haven't seen him in a long time!"

"Tommy? Don't you mean Joe?" Mandie asked.

"No, I mean Tommy. Is he here?" Polly asked again.

"Uh I think that he is in the parlor," Mandie answered. She watched as Polly went into the parlor, and she heard the excited exclamations of Tommy when he saw her. _"Huh, I wander what that's all about,"_ Mandie thought to herself. She walked into the parlor where all of her friends were gathered. Polly was talking to Celia and she seemed pretty amused by Polly's niceness. Mandie still didn't understand it. But then again, she could get used to it. She went over and stood by Joe.

"What's up with Polly?" Joe whispered.

"I have no idea. But I kind of like it," Mandie answered. Joe nodded. They talked for a little while, but then Uncle John came in.

"Are y'all coming with me to get a Christmas tree, or am I going to have to go by myself?" he asked. Everyone laughed.

"We are most definitely coming with you!" Mandie answered. The walked out to the hall tree and grabbed their coats. They pulled on their boats and walked out into the freezing air. Suddenly a strange man who was walking by came up to their house and started talking to Mandie's uncle.

"Hello sir!" he said. "Do you perhaps know anything about mining for gold?"

"Mining, for gold?" Uncle John asked.

"Yes, mining for gold," the man said smiling.

"Well I know a little bit about ruby mining, but I don't know what to look for when mining for gold," Uncle John answered.

"Oh I know what to look for, but I need someone to help me. The jobs pays well," he offered.

"I am sorry but I cannot help you now," he answered.

"Well I will be back tomorrow," the man said, and at that he left.

They all starred as he left when Mandie brook the silence. "Who was that man, Uncle John? Do you know him?"

"I have know idea. I have never seen him before," he answered bewildered.

"Huh. This is another mystery. I wonder who he is," Mandie wondered.

"Speaking of mysteries Mandie, we still need to go back and look at that pit to see if there are anymore," Celia whispered.

"I know, we might do that later today," Mandie answered. They went into a pine tree thicket and split up into different groups. Polly went with Tommy, Celia went with Robert, and Uncle John went by himself, leaving Mandie and Joe together.

"I guess it is just you and me," Joe said.

"I guess. Let's go and find a Christmas tree," Mandie answered.

"Let's go this way," Joe said pointing in front of them. They walked over through the pine trees when suddenly they came upon the most beautiful blue spruce she had ever seen.

"This is the one!" she exclaimed. "Should we call Uncle John?" Joe nodded. "Uncle John! We found a good one!" Mandie shouted. Uncle John soon came walking followed by, Celia, Robert, Tommy, and Polly.

"Now that is a beautiful tree," Uncle John. A few blows with his axe, and the tree fell with hardly a sound. The boys helped Uncle John carry the tree back to the house. They set it up in the parlor, and then they began to bring the decorations out of the attic. While Mandie was carrying a box down the stairs, Celia walked up to her and wispered in her ear, "Mandie, when you've carried that one down can you come to our room? I need to tell you something."

"Ok, in a minute," Mandie answered. She walked down the stairs, and left the box in the parlor, then walked back up the stairs to her room. Celia was sitting o the bed waiting for her.

"Hey Mandie," Celia said.

"So what's up?" Mandie asked climbing onto the bed.

"Well, I meant to tell you this sooner but, I just thought of telling you now. Well, Robert and I, have been sending letters to each other, and earlier yesterday morning, he started courting me," Celia said.

"Well that's wonderful!" Mandie exclaimed giving her friend a hug. "I'm happy for you Celia."

"Thank's Mandie," Celia thanked her. Suddenly Joe knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Mandie called.

"Um, Mandie, Celia, it is time to trim the tree," he said.

"Ok we will be down in a second," Mandie answered. Joe nodded and left the room. Come on Celia, let's go," Mandie said climbing off the bed. She walked out the door, followed by Celia. When they entered they parlor, it was filled with boxes of ornament and garland. They began to decorate, covering the tree with beautiful ornaments. When they were finished, they stepped back to admire their work.

"It looks beautiful!" Mandie said looking up at Joe. Joe wrapped his arm around her.

"It sure is," Joe said. "And so are you." Mandie blushed. She pulled away from him and stepped away. Uncle John then came in.

"Alright! It's time to decorate the house!" he said to walked out came to Elizabeth.

Ok, since decorating this house for Christmas is such a big job, we are going to split up into groups. You can choose who you want to go with. But I will be giving you special jobs. So find who you are going with and I will tell you what your jobs are." Robert went with Celia, Tommy went with Polly, and Joe went with Mandie. "Ok, now that that's settled we will give you the jobs. Celia, Robert, you can wrap garland around the railings. Mandie, Joe, you can hang wreathes on all of the doors downstairs. And Polly and Tommy, you can hang up garland and wreathes outside." They all nodded, and ran to the attic to get the decorations.

When they had finished decorating, Mandie went into the parlor to get some alone time. But to her disappointment, Joe was sitting there. She started to leave, but Joe called her back. "Wait Mandie! Come sit by me." Mandie turned around and sat next to him. "Mandie, I wanted to ask you, if you are still going to keep your promise to marry me. I need to know Mandie!"

"I just know Joe! When I promised that it was if you got my father's house for me. But now, since it was willed to me, I can only marry if I love you. And I do, but not in that way. I will have to think about it," Mandie answered. She left the room and went into the kitchen. "Hi Liza. When is dinner going to be ready? I'm starving!"

"It be ready in a minute. Now get out o' here!" Liza said pushing Mandie out. "I hope lunch is done soon. I'm so hungry I can't think!" Mandie said to herself. Suddenly she remembered the strange man. _"I wonder who he was,"_ she thought. Then Liza called her for the noon meal, and Mandie entered wondering.

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 **I hope that you all liked that change in Polly's behavio** **r! I know, it was a little unusual but I kind of wanted a little change. But what you have to wonder is, _Is Polly faking it? Could she be tricking Mandie?_**


	4. Chapter 4 Sallie Arrives

**Sorry if this took a little while, but now that Christmas break is over, I have less time to write.**

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Mandie anxiously waited for the day to end. Tomorrow, Sallie was arriving. Finally, she was called into the dinning room for supper. When she finally finished she went up to her room to wait until it was time for them to go to sleep. A few minutes later, Celia came up and joined Mandie in their room..

"Hey Mandie, what are you so anxious about? You seemed really eager to finish dinner," said Celia sitting next to Mandie.

"Oh, just about tomorrow. Sallie is arriving tomorrow, and I haven't seen her in a really long time. And I am excited to see Dimer too," Mandie answered.

"Yeah, I am excited about seeing them again to. It's been even longer for me since I've seen them," Celia said.

"Well, I am going to start getting ready to go to bed. I'm tired, more than usual. So, I am going to bed early," Mandie said,, getting her nightgown ready. She unbuttoned the back of her dress, and slipped it off. She pulled up her nightgown, and then unbraided her hair. She combed it out then waited for Celia to get ready. As Celia climbed into bed, Mandie blew out the lamp. "Good-night Celia."

"Good-night Mandie," Celia answered.

The next morning Celia awoke Mandie to tell her that it was raining. "Wake up sleepy-head! It's time to get up! Oh and it's raining."

"What?!" Mandie exclaimed. "Of all the things it had to be raining!" Mandie exclaimed. "The day that Sallie and Dimer are arriving, and the day that I had planned to go back to see the pit!"

"Let's get dressed Mandie. Sallie and Dimer should be arriving soon," Celia said pulling a purple dress out of the wardrobe.

"Okay," Mandie answered. She grabbed a red dress that was hanging and slipped off her nightgown. Celia had finished dressing, and was brushing her hair in front of the full length mirror. Mandie soon joined her and brushed out her long thick blond hair. Mandie decided to leave her hair down this time. When she had finished brushing her hair, she headed to the door. _"It had to raining!"_ Mandie thought. _"Oh well!"_ _The rain will probably turn to snow."_

"Mandie, aren't you going to braid your hair?" Celia asked.

"No, I'm going to leave it down today," Mandie answered.

"It looks pretty like that. You should let it down more often. Joe will like it," Celia said with a sly grin.

"Whatever," Mandie said rolling her eyes. She walked out the door and down the stairs to the dinning room. The boys and Polly were already down there. And to Mandie's surprise, Polly was sitting next to Tommy, rather than Joe. _"Hmm, weird."_ Mandie thought.

What took you two sleepy-heads so long to get down here?" Joe asked teasingly.

"The sun wasn't shining and that usually wakes me up," Mandie answered.

"I woke up early, but I let Mandie sleep for a little while longer. She would have slept all day if I hadn't woke her," Celia said defending herself.

"I would not have! Your usually the one..." there was a knock on the door that made her pause. Uncle John went to open it, and it was Sallie and Dimer.

"Come in, come in! You must be soaked to the skin," Uncle John.

"Thankfully we brought our raincoats. We left before sunup, and after we had rode for about an hour it started to pour," Dimer said.

"What time did you leave?" Uncle John asked.

"3 o'clock," Sallie answered hanging her coat.

"3 o'clock! You must be tired," Uncle John said.

"A little bit, but we went to bed really early," Sallie answered.

"Well you must at least be hungry, come and eat breakfast with us. We're just starting," Uncle John invited.

"Thank you," Sallie said politely. They entered the dinning room, and Mandie quickly stood up.

"Sallie!" she exclaimed. Mandie ran up to her and gave her a hug. "It's been so long since I've seen you!"

"I've missed you to Mandie! I was looking forward to seeing you and Celia all year!" Sallie said. She walked over to Celia gave her a hug.

"Oh Sallie! I've missed you so much! How are you?" Celia asked.

"I'm fine. How have you been?" Sallie asked.

"I've been doing fine. Are you excited for the ball? This is the first that I have ever been to," said Celia excitedly.

"Yes I am very excited. Who is your partner?" Sallie asked sitting down in between Celia and Dimer.

"I don't know yet. I haven't been asked yet. Who is yours?"

"I will tell you after breakfast," Sallie answered. Polly suddenly came up to Sallie and gave her a hug.

"Oh Sallie, it is so nice to see you again," she said.

"It's nice to see you too," Sallie answered awkwardly. Polly went back to sit next to Tommy. "What was that all about? I don't remember Polly being so nice," Sallie whispered.

"Mandie and I have been wondering the same thing. She been nice to us too," Celia answered.

"Huh," wondered Sallie. She filled her plate and started eating. Mandie was looking at Sallie, and she thought, that Sallie looked very happy, and so did Dimer. "I wonder if they are courting, or maybe even engaged! If they are engaged, I wonder if they'll announce it."

After everyone had finished eating, Sallie and Dimer stood up. Dimer squeezed Sallie's hand. She smiled and breathed in deeply. "Everyone," Dimer started. "Sallie and I would like to make an announcement. Sallie and I are engaged and are hoping to be married sometime in the spring."

"Really Sallie? That's wonderful!" Mandie exclaimed.

"I'm happy for you Granddaughter," Uncle Ned said smiling. "Papoose is now squaw."

"Thank you Grandfather," Sallie thanked him.

"Hey Sallie, I so happy that your going to get married to Dimer! I always thought that you made a great couple," Mandie said.

"Thank you Mandie. But what about you and Joe? Are you ever going to get married?" Sallie asked.

"I don't know. I try not to think about it," Mandie answered.

"Well everyone expects it," Sallie said.

 _"They do?"_ Mandie thought to herself. _"Oi! Why just because we are good friends does everyone think that Joe and I should get married? It's starting to get annoying!"_ She looked out of the window and smiled. The rain had turned to snow, just like she had thought.

"Do ya'll want go and look at the pit with me? It stopped raining and now it's snowing!" Mandie said.

"What pit?" Sallie, Dimer, and Polly chorused.

"We'll tell you on the way. Well are you coming?"

"Sure," they answered.

Are you guys coming?" Mandie asked, meaning, Celia, Joe, Robert, and Tommy.

"Yup, we're coming," Joe said rising. When Elizabeth saw that they were leaving, she stood to.

"Amanda, if you are going outside, please be back before noon, we need to get the guest rooms ready. We also need to decorate," she said.

"Alright, we will," Mandie answered. She walked over to the hall tree and grabbed her coat, hat, and gloves off of it. She took off her regular shoes, and put on her snow boots. She waited for the others to be ready and then went out the door. Snowball followed her out the door, "Uh, uh. No, Snowball, your staying inside." She picked him up and put him back inside. He meowed in protest. "Hey the snow is wet, perfect for making snowballs. Maybe if we have time after we look at the pit,we can have a snowball fight," Mandie suggested.

"I don't see why we can't have one now," Joe said rolling up a ball of snow in his hands. He through it at Mandie and hit her back. He started laughing. Mandie did too.

"Hey! No fair! I wasn't prepared!" Mandie said throwing another snowball at Joe, but he moved out of the way and it hit Celia.

"Oh you want to have a snowball fight? I'll give you a snowball fight!" Celia said. She threw two at Mandie at the same time. Soon, everyone was joined in the snowball fight. They played for a little while then Mandie called a timeout.

"Timeout! Timeout!" Mandie called. They stopped throwing snowballs. "We need to go see that pit, before we have to go in. I marked the tree closest to the pit with an "M"." Mandie said.

"Ok, let's go!" Sallie exclaimed, and they headed in the direction of the pit.

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 **Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing!**

 **To my reviewers:**

 **God's Child: Thanks for trusting me not to give up on this story. I am trying really hard to update often.**

 **Jorgina: I am glad that you like this. I hope that you like this chapter as well. : )**

 **Annefan: Thank you for the encouragement! Don't worry! I won't abandon this! I love writing it!**

 **And everyone else: Thank you all for your support!**


	5. Chapter 5 It Was There I Know It Was!

**Thank you all so much for your reviews! : ) And yes, I am going to try to make them less childish. Oh and edited the first chapter. I added a little bit more to it. So if you want to reread it, you can.**

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As soon as they got to the tree that Mandie had marked, the pit was gone! "It was here! I know it was!" Mandie, said Looking around frantically.

"Are you sure that it was here?" Joe asked doubtfully.

"No it was here I am sure of it!" Mandie said. The others were searching everywhere as well. Mandie got on her hands and knees, and felt the ground for any signs of the pit. "Do you believe that it is a mystery now Joe?"

"I always did believe that you thought it was a mystery. But now I actually think that it is," he answered.

"I wish that I had seen it. It sounded so cool!" Sallie exclaimed.

"And I had always wanted to see a hole that went over my head," Dimer added.

"All I want to know is how they just disappeared," Mandie said.

"And who dug them, and why," Celia continued to wonder.

"Mandie," Joe started. "You and Celia are definitely going to be detectives."

"Not me! I am going to give music lessons," said Celia. "But Mandie, no matter what she says is going to be a detective." Mandie nodded.

"But I also just wanted to show them to you," Mandie sat down on a rock and hung her head.

"It's okay Mandie. Maybe we'll find another one. Let's start looking," Sallie said. Mandie nodded. They began to search in all different directions. Mandie went with Joe, and for some reason, she felt very uncomfortable with him. That was not like her, to be so shy near him, they had been friends for their whole lives. _"Do I really- love him?"_ she asked herself. Or maybe it was that his brown eyed gaze was continuously upon her. She tried to ignore it, but she felt her cheeks begin to grow hot. She tried to start a conversation.

"Where do you think the pit could have gone Joe?" Mandie asked. Joe shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, maybe someone thought that they were dangerous and filled them up."

"No, that's impossible! No one could fill up a pit of that size in just a few days!" she said. "Maybe that was just the wrong tree. But then maybe, oh I don't know. I guess we just came to the wrong spot," Mandie said, disappointment clouding her face.

"Well maybe, but...Hey! What's that over there?" he asked pointing toward the left. Mandie saw a dark spot in the snow and walked toward it. The right before her, was a huge pit, even larger than the last one. Mandie called Joe over. He walked over to Mandie and looked down. He was surprised when he saw the pit right in front of him. "Wow! Now that is cool! It's almost thirteen feet deep!"

"I know! Let's go call the others!" Mandie answered. They ran back to the spot where the original pit was, (or once had been) and gathered the others together.

"Did you find anything?" Mandie asked them. They all answered "No". "Well Joe and I," right as she was about to tell them about the new pit she had found, it started to snow. And I mean really snow! It came on so suddenly that it almost startled them. "Oh, we better get back. And.. Uh-oh! Oops! I forgot! We were supposed to get home before dinner! We better hurry!" And just like that they were off, and Mandie forgot all about the pit Joe and her had found. They hurried back to the house and ran inside. Snowball was still meowing at the door when Mandie came in.

"Oh, Snowball! I'm sorry that you couldn't come outside with me. I'm going to take you into the kitchen and Aunt Lou will feed you," Mandie said scooping the cat into her arms. She walked through the dinning room and into the kitchen. But then she had realized what she had done wrong. She had told her mother that she would comeback before dinner, and it was dinner time now! She quickly put Snowball down, and walked out of the kitchen. She bumped into her mother.

"Amanda, may I have a word with you?" she asked. Mandie nodded and walked into the parlor. Elizabeth closed the door. "Amanda, I asked you to be back, _before_ dinner. You told me that you would. But now it is dinner time, and you just now came back. I don't think that is very responsible," she said.

"I'm sorry Mother. I will do better next time. And I'll try harder to act like a young lady, and not like a ten year old girl," Mandie said humbly.

"Ok. But please don't do it again," she said. "Now, why don't we go and have some dinner?" Mandie smiled and nodded. They walked back into the dinning room and sat down at the table. Mandie was really hungry because of being out in the cold air for a long time. They were having ham, with potatoes, and spinach. And after dinner was even better. Aunt Lou surprised all of them with, wait for it- - chocolate cake! As they were eating it Mandie said, "Mother, do you know what happened to the pit?"

"No, dear, I don't," her Mother answered.

"Well," Mandie continued. "Just a few days ago, we found the pit. But today, Celia, Robert, Tommy, Joe, and I all went back to the pit to show Sallie, Dimer, and Polly. But when we got there, the pit was gone!"

"Well, that is certainly a mystery. Maybe you might just need to look harder. Do you think you can solve it?" her Mother said smiling. Mandie smiled.

"I'm sure that I can. But only with the help of my friends. And even if we wanted to look harder we couldn't. Look at the snow!" Mandie exclaimed. Her Grandmother looked at her said, "You have quite a sense of adventure. Just like I was when I was your age." They all looked at the snow.

"Wow! Look at it coming down out there! Looks like a pretty bad blizzard out there!" Celia exclaimed.

"Well why don't you stop talking, and finish your cake. We need to get ready for the ball." Mandie nodded, and quickly finished her dessert. They walked out and Mandie walked out into the parlor. They started to hang decorations in the parlor. Mostly garland and wreaths, but it was very fun. Then they decorated the rest of the house. They rapped garland around the stairs, and tied red bows to it. They hug wreaths on all the doors. All of them! Though they had to wait till the next day to hang decorations outside. Finally, right before supper, they were finished. Mandie had been working with Joe the whole time, though she had not noticed it.

"I liked working with you Mandie," Joe said smiling. Mandie looked down so the he wouldn't see her blushing.

"Well! Y'all did a great job!" Elizabeth said looking at their work. "Now tomorrow, you can all go out to get thing for the ball. You can get gifts for each other, and girls, you can get new dresses for the ball." Mandie and Celia clasped hands.

Suddenly Liza came in and told them that supper was ready. "Hey Missy Manda, has dat miss sweet thang messed with your Joe yet?" she asked as Mandie passed by.

"No, strangely, not yet. But I'm not really thinking of that right now," Mandie answered. They went into the dinning room to eat supper. As soon as the young people had finished eating, they went into the parlor to talk.

"Hey! There is something that I forgot to tell y'all about that Joe and I found," Mandie said. "What?" they all asked, except for Joe. "Well when Joe and I were looking around for clues, we found a new pit! I would like to show it to y'all, but I'll have to tell Mother first. I don't wan her t get worried."

"Okay, we'll wait for you in here," said Celia, as Mandie went out. Mandie went out of the room to her mother.

"Mother, we were thinking of going outside for a little while. Will that be ok with you?" Mandie asked.

"Alright, but don't stray too far," she answered. "Thank you Mother!" Mandie said and ran back to the others. They went to the hall tree to grab their coats, hats and boats. They went out the door and into the snow. They quickly ran to place that Mandie remembered the pit being, but when they got there, it was gone too!

"Oh no! Not again! Don't tell me this one is missing too!" Mandie exclaimed, with a look of disappointment on her face.

"Oh this pit is gone for sure!" Joe said.

"I said don't tell me! Not do tell me!" Mandie said.

"I'm never going to see one of those pits!" Sallie said disappointedly.

"Neither am I," said Dimer.

"Well it's starting to get dark, we should be heading back," Robert said looking at the darkening forest. "And it's snowing again."

"Oh bother! It's snowing so hard that I can hardly see the way home! But I think that way!" Mandie said pointing to her right, not realizing that she was pointing in the opposite direction that they were supposed to go! After they had walked for a little while, Mandie started to realize, that they were going the wrong way. "I think we're lost. I can't tell which way is which, and it's getting darker and darker. And now, the snowstorm, has turned to a blizzard! And it's extremely cold!" Mandie said pulling her coat closer around her.

"Mandie, I'm really cold. Do you think that we'll ever find our way home? Celia asked shivering. Robert walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"I don't know! I so cold that I can't think strait. I can't believe I got us into this mess! I'm so sorry!" Mandie said. She began to cry softly. Joe put his arm around her.

"Shh shh, it's alright Mandie. We'll find our way home, or someone will find us. And it wasn't your fault that we got lost," he said trying to comfort her.

"But it was my fault. I shouldn't have been dumb enough to think we could go in the middle of the woods at night, and in winter. And is going to find us? What if they don't?" Mandie asked looking up at him.

"Remember, God will take care of us," Joe reminded her. "Here, take my coat, your shivering."

"No, Joe. I'm not that cold. And I don't want you to freeze. We don't know how long we'll be out here," Mandie protested. But Mandie finally gave, and Joe gave her his coat.

"Can y'all say my verse with me?" Mandie asked them. They all nodded and clasped hands. "What time I am afraid I will put my trust in thee," they prayed. And Mandie added, "Please Lord, let someone find us." They sat there for about ten minutes. Then there was a rustling in the bushes that startled them, and they turned around and Uncle Ned came out.

"Uncle Ned!" Mandie exclaimed and she embraced the old Indian.

"Come, Papoose's mother worried," Uncle Ned said.

"I'm sorry that I made everyone worry so much," Mandie said. They hurried back to the house and ran inside.

"Oh Amanda! I was so worried!" Elizabeth said hugging her daughter.

"Oh thank goodness your alright!" Mrs Taft said.

"Mother, tell Aunt Lou to get these poor children some blankets," Elizabeth said. Mrs. Taft went into the kitchen. "Oh Amanda, I am so happy that your alright!"

"I'm fine Mother. Joe gave me his coat," Mandie said. "Oh! I have to thank him for that," mandie said and ran off to find him. She found him sitting in the parlor by the fire. "Joe, thank you for giving me your coat. You didn't get to cold did you?" Mandie asked concern filling her eyes.

"Yes I'm fine Mandie. Thank you for asking," Joe said.

"Are you sure? You night have froze to death!" Mandie said.

"I'd rather me freeze to death than have you freeze to death," Joe said. Just then Mandie's Grandmother came in and said, "Amanda Elizabeth told me to tell you to say goodnight. Everyone has already went to their rooms."

"Ok Grandmother, we'll just be a minute," Mandie answered. "Well good-night Joe, I'll see you in the morning."

"See you in the morning Mandie," Joe said, and he kissed her on the cheek. Mandie blushed, till her face was the color of a tomato. Joe went up to his room and Mandie to hers.

Mandie got up to the top of the stairs and went into the her room and got ready for bed. She brushed out her tangled blond hair and slipped on her nightgown. She climbed into her bed and snuggled under the covers. Snowball crawled up next to Mandie and started purr. Mandie was glad to be in her warm bed.


	6. Chapter 6 We're Being Spied On!

**Here is chapter six! I'm still trying to make them less childish, but I am getting better at it. Anyway, here is chapter the next chapter. R &R!**

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When she woke up in the morning, the snow had stopped,and the sun was shining brightly. Celia was already getting dressed. Mandie jumped out of bed and looked out the window. The view was breathtaking. The sun shown brightly on the newly fallen snow, and it was sparkling like diamonds. It was almost too bright to look at.

"Oh how beautiful!" Mandie exclaimed. "It's the perfect day to go gift shopping!" Mandie went over to the wardrobe and pulled out a purple dress. She slipped off her nightgown and put on the dress. She decided to leave her hair down this day also. She brushed out her long blond hair after she had put on her dress. She looked at herself in the full length mirror. She had gotten a little taller.

"I can't wait to go gift shopping!" Celia exclaimed.

"Well we're going right after breakfast," Mandie said. "And speaking of breakfast we're late." They quickly headed down the stairs and into the dinning room. Good-morning everyone," Mandie greeted. She looked around the room. To her surprise, Joe wasn't there. _"Huh. He's usually down before me. And he's never late for breakfast,"_ Mandie thought. "Mother where is Joe?" Mandie asked.

"He had a bad cold last night, so he'll be staying in bed for a while," Dr. Woodard told her.

"How long will he have to stay in bed for?" Mandie asked sitting down.

"Until tomorrow morning at least," Dr. Woodard said. "I'm going to get his gift for his "secret" partner for him," he said winking at Mandie.

"Isn't tomorrow Sunday? I didn't realize that it was so close to the ball! How are we going to get everything ready on time?" Mandie asked.

"Well while your shopping, we're going to be getting the house ready for Monday," Elizabeth said. "But if you want to go shopping you have to finish breakfast." Mandie nodded and she quickly finished her breakfast. The other girls finished their breakfast as well. "Alright, are you girls finished?"

"Yes mam!" they answered.

"Alright then let's go!" Elizabeth said. The girls got their coats, hats, and gloves on and went outside. "Abraham, can you drive these girls to the gift shop down the street?"

"Yes ma'm. I can do dat," he answered. "What time you be wantin' me to pick 'em up?" He began to hitch up the horses to the rig. Elizabeth thought about it. "Eleven o'clock."

"Ok girls here is some money, now be careful and don't talk to strangers," she said. The girls nodded and Elizabeth went inside. They waited until he said, "Alright, now y'all just get in de rig." Mandie got in first, Celia sat next to her, then came Polly, and last Sallie. Abraham grove them to the shop, and said, "I'll be picking y'all up at 'leven o'clock," he said. They nodded, and he left.

"I'm going to have a hard time choosing what I'm going to get for Robert," Celia said.

"And I for Dimer," said Sallie.

"Have you decided what your going to get for _Joe_?" Celia asked Mandie teasingly. Mandie blushed.

"Not yet," she said, her cheeks turning bright pink. "I am also going to get something for Tommy. But I'm sure _Robert_ , will love, just _love_ whatever you get him!" Mandie teased Celia back, and she went off to find something for Joe. After walking for a little while, she spotted a pocket-knife that Joe had wanted for a long time. The knife was made of steel, while the handle was made of maple wood and painted black. Next she got another pocket knife that had a brass handle.

"I'm sure he'll like this," Mandie said to herself. "Hey! Have y'all found what you're going to buy?"

"I have!" Sallie said holding up a bow and quiver.

"I have too!" said Celia holding up a silver watch. There were lots of "Ooos" and "Ahhs" from the other girls. As soon as Celia held up the watch, out of the corner of her eye, Mandie saw someone watching them. While Sallie and Polly were still admiring the watch, Mandie ran over and pushed Celia's hand down.

"Hey, what did you do that for?" Celia asked, annoyed.

"That was not very nice Mandie. You should learn better manners," Polly said. Mandie rolled her eyes.

"This has nothing to do with manners Polly Cornwallis!" Mandie exclaimed. "There was a man, that very man who came to my house the day before arrived Sallie. And as soon as you held up the watch, I saw him out of the corner of my eye. We're being spied on! " Mandie told them. "Celia, is that watch made of real silver?"

"Well, yes it is," Celia answered.

"Real silver! Wow! How much did that cost?" Polly asked with enthusiasm.

"Fifty dollars," Celia answered. Polly's eyes widened.

"Fifty dollars! That is a lot!" Polly exclaimed.

"Shush! If someone really is spying on us, and the heard what you just said, they could steal it!" Mandie whispered.

"Alright, well we better pay for these before someone really steals something," Celia whispered back. They went over to the counter and paid for there things. They waited at the door until they heard the sound of horses approaching. Abraham was waiting for them with the rig and Elizabeth was with him.

"Come on missies. Get in de rig," Abraham said. The four girls climbed into the rig and sat down.

"Well girls, I hope you had a good time. Oh and we have a surprise waiting for you at the house," Elizabeth said.

"Oh Mother, there was a man spying on us in the store!" Mandie exclaimed. Elizabeth looked shocked.

"A man spying on you!? Next time you go somewhere I'm sending Uncle Ned with you!" she said.

"Oh but Mother! I don't want to be treated as a child anymore!" Mandie said.

"As long as you are in my house, you are still a child," Elizabeth said. They soon reached Mandie's house and Elizabeth got out of the rig. Mandie got out of the rig, and then, Celia, Sallie, and last Polly. As Mandie was walking up the stairs, she stopped. "Mother, what is the surprise?"

"You'll know when you go up to your rooms," Elizabeth said. Mandie nodded, and her and Celia went up to their room, and Sallie and Polly to theirs. Mandie opened her wardrobe and gasped. There in the wardrobe were the most beautiful dresses she had ever seen. Each had a small paper on it. One of the dresses was addressed to Mandie, and the other to Celia. Mandie's had three layers and the top layer was split down the middle. It was a long sleeved dress It had a green sash on the waist, with rose buds going down the middle and the bottom. Celia's was short sleeved, and was dark green with a black sash and small black flowers at the collar.

"Oh my goodness! This is the most beautiful dress I've ever seen!" Mandie said, taking the dress out of the wardrobe.

"Mine too!" Celia exclaimed, admiring her new ball gown. Suddenly Sallie and Polly came into Mandie's room with their dresses. Sallie's was red with a white lace ribbon lining the middle, which had three eagle feathers hanging down on the left side. Polly's was light pink, and was the same stile as Mandie's, except it had no rose buds, and had a yellow sash instead of green.

"Look at this dress! It's the most beautiful that I've ever seen!" Sallie exclaimed.

"Well y'all's are pretty nice, but I think mine is the best," Polly said.

"Well that's not very nice Polly! I think all of ours are nice," Mandie said. "Oh and I have to go thank Aunt Lou for these. They're all so beautiful!" Mandie ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Aunt Lou was making lunch with Jenny. "Hey Aunt Lou, I wanted to thank you for those wonderful dresses that you made for us!"

"Well I didn't make dem dresses all by myself. Dat wouldn't be able to dem all by myself! Yo mother helped a lot!" Aunt Lou told her.

"Oh. Well where are they? I need to thank them too," Mandie said.

"Liza be settin' de table, and yo ma be in the parlor," Aunt Lou answered. "Now you just get out o here and let Jenny and I finish de cookin'." the old woman said.

Mandie went out to find Liza, when she bumped into Celia. "Hey where are you going?" Mandie asked. Celia had her coat and hat on.

"Um, Robert and I are going for a walk. I was just waiting for him here," Celia answered. Mandie nodded.

"Well I think I can see him coming. Better leave you two alone," Mandie said and headed off to the parlor to find her mother. Robert walked up to Celia and put his arm out.

"Ready?" he asked smiling.

"Yes," she answered. She took his arm and they headed out the door.

Mandie walked parlor where her mother was. She sat down next to her. "Mother, I love the dresses you and Aunt Lou made for us. They are wonderful!" Mandie said.

"I'm glad you liked them. We were working on them last week, but didn't get much of a chance to make them this week. So we thought of a way to do it without you seeing," she said. Mandie gave her a big hug, and stood up. She left the parlor just in time to see Sallie walking past.

"Hey Sallie, where are you off to?" Mandie asked.

"I'm going for a walk with Dimer," Sallie answered.

"Ok have a good time!" Mandie said.

"Thanks! I will!" Sallie said, and she was gone out the door with Dimer. _"Great! Thanks, for leaving me here alone with Polly. She seems to have gone back to her old self,"_ Mandie thought. She went up to her room and grabbed a book and slumped down in a chair. She read for a little while, when she heard the voice of Liza say, "De noon meal be ready!" Mandie put her book down and came out of the room. After she had filled her plate, she saw Sallie, Dimer, Celia, and Robert come in. "Sorry we're late," Celia apologized.

"Dat be fine. You just sit down and eat," Aunt Lou said. Celia smiled at the old woman. Mandie had been wishing Joe was there. She secretly missed him, and wished that he was there. She was quiet most of the day, thinking of Joe, and the mystery. Why was that man spying on them? Even through supper she was thinking of their mystery. And she had only seen Joe once that day. When they went up to their room, Celia asked,

"Mandie, why have you been so quiet?"

"Oh, just thinking about the mystery. We are just making no progress on this mystery, are we?" Mandie asked.

"I think we have. And I bet that the mysterious man is the one digging the pits," Celia said. Mandie looked up.

"You know, you're probably right! I just wonder why he was spying on us. We don't have any thing that he could want. Do we?" Celia shrugged.

"I don't know, but we should probably get to bed. It's Sunday tomorrow, and we're going to church," Celia said. "It's getting late." Mandie nodded. She took off her dress and put on her nightgown. She climbed into bed, and put out the light. Celia climbed into the bed with her. Snowball crawled up next to Mandie and began to purr.

The next morning breakfast was rushed because everyone was getting ready for church. The sermon on Sunday was on the birth of Jesus, because Christmas was to days away. Mandie looked over into the next pew at Joe. He was looking better then he had yesterday, and Mandie thought very handsome. As she looked over she saw the man who had been spying on them the day before, and he was spying on them yet! And then the words rang through her mind, _"We're being spied on!"_

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 **I you liked that chapter! Please continue to review. Sorry that I took so long to get this one out. But I did get it out so yeah.**


	7. Chapter 7 Following, Spying, and Capture

Mandie walked out of the sanctuary pondering the happenings of about a half an hour ago. "What does he want from us?" Mandie asked herself. "What could he possibly want, to make him stare at us? Well whatever it is, I find out, or my name isn't Mandie Elizabeth Shaw!" she told herself as she climbed into the rig. On the drive, she fell asleep.

Mandie was sitting on her bed reading her Bible, with Snowball on her lap. She was reading through it from Genesis to Revelation, and she had started in January, and she was now in Philippians chapter 4. She had just read Philippians chapter 4, verse thirteen, _I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me_ , when there was a knock on the door. She took Snowball off her lap, and closed her Bible. "Wait here Snowball," Mandie said to her cat. Snowball meowed. She walked over to the door and opened it, to see Joe standing there. "Yes?"

"I was just wondering," Joe paused. "Would you like to go for a short walk?" Mandie looked away, as Joe's brown eyes met her blue ones.

"Isn't really cold outside? I mean, won't that effect your cold?" Mandie asked. Joe shrugged.

"Not, my cold is mostly gone, and I'll just have to bundle up real good," Joe answered.

"Well then, I accept your offer!" Mandie said. She ran down to the hall tree to grab her coat and hat. Joe followed behind. Mandie and Joe went out into the street and started down to the right. Joe was about to ask Mandie a question when Mandie put her hand in front of him, and yelled, "Joe look! It's the man who came to our house a couple days ago! Do you see him?" she asked excitedly. Joe looked.

"Yes, I think. Is that him?" Joe asked. Mandie nodded vigorously.

"Yes! Yes! Come on let's follow him!" Mandie exclaimed. Joe shook his head, and they started to run after him, as fast as they could. They followed him down a couple of streets, and around lots of twists and turns. They were out of breath, and were panting. Mandie put her hand to her chest and felt her heartbeat. It was pounding faster and faster every second. Finally they caught up to the man, and he stopped. Just then, a police man, walked down the street, and just like that, the man was gone. Mandie crossed her arms.

"Drat! I wonder what that was all about?" Mandie asked tilting her head slightly.

"I...don't...know," Joe said in between coughs.

"We better get you home Joe. Your cold is getting worse again," Mandie said with concern.

"No, it's ok, really. I just inhaled a snowflake," he said.

Mandie laughed. "A snowflake? It would have to be more than just a snowflake to make someone cough like that."

"Well I guess so. But don't you want to follow that man some more?" Joe asked. Mandie shook her head.

"No, he's gone anyway. Come on, let's go. My stomach is telling me that it's lunch time," Mandie said. Joe nodded.

"Come to think of it, I'm getting pretty hungry to," Joe said. So they headed back to the house. As they were heading back, Joe remembered what he was going to say. "Mandie," he began. "I was going to ask you an important question. I..." He was interrupted by Liza impatiently calling, "It's dinner time! They gonna be in trouble if they be late." When Mandie heard Liza calling, her walk brook into a run.

"What be taking y'all so long to get here," Liza asked. "Dinner be ready 'bout ten minutes ago, and if yo don't get yourselves in there, Aunt Lou'll be mad."

"Ok Liza, we're going, we're going," Mandie said quietly laughing about the girls persistence. Mandie sat down next to Celia and told her the events of their walk.

"Do you think that he could be a wanted criminal? I mean, why else would he run off like that when he saw the police?" Celia asked.

"Your probably right, but if not I'll find out," Mandie said.

"Should we try to catch him?" Celia asked.

"Catch him!? Oh Celia, the only times we've ever caught anyone was when we had Uncle Ned or Joe with us, and even then we threatened to shoot them!" Mandie said. Celia shrugged.

"Well I guess I wasn't there those times. But anyway, don't you think we could see what he's up to?"

"Oh course! Celia, do you want to do some spying today?" Mandie asked smiling slyly.

"You bet! Let's hurry up and finish eating!" Celia said. They quickly finished eating, and got their coats on. They decided to sit on the porch swing and talk for a little while, and watch to see if the man passed by. When they had been outside for about forty minutes, they suddenly heard Mrs. Cornwallis calling out, "Thief! Robber! Somebody do something!" Mandie and Celia walked up to her.

"Who stole what? What did they look like?" Mandie asked quickly.

"And which way did they go?" Celia asked.

"There was only one. He was of average height and he was all dressed in black. Oh and he went to the left. Oh girls call the police! He stole some of my most valuable possessions."

"Come on Celia! He might be who were after!" Mandie squealed with excitement. Celia nodded.

"Don't worry, we'll catch him!" Celia exclaimed. Mrs. Cornwallis looked alarmed.

"But... WAIT! Girls!" They were already off and down the street. "I must warn Elizabeth. Those girls could be in great danger." Meanwhile, Elizabeth, Mrs. Taft and the others were getting slightly worried. The girls had left about an hour ago to go outside, and when Uncle John went out to get them, they were nowhere in sight.

"Oh, they should have been back by now. And if John can't find them, oh, what could have happened to them?" Elizabeth said in a worried voice.

"I'm sure they'll come back. Amanda is so adventurous. I'm sure she just went after a mystery or something," Mrs. Taft said. Elizabeth didn't look as sure as her mother did.

Then there was a knock on the door. "Oh maybe that's them! But why would they knock?" She walked over to the door and opened it. There was Mrs. Cornwallis, standing there looking as worried as they. "Why Mrs. Cornwallis, why do you look so worried? Is something wrong?"

"It's your daughter and her friend. I'm afraid they might be in trouble," Mrs. Cornwallis answered. Elizabeth's face paled.

"In trouble! What kind of trouble?" Elizabeth asked. Mrs. Cornwallis hesitated.

"Well they... They went after... A man. A robber," she said. Elizabeth gasped. "A robber! Oh John we have to find them!" John went over to her and gave her a squeeze. "Don't worry, we'll find them."

"I find papooses," Uncle Ned volunteered. Joe walked up next to him.

"And I will help!" he said. "I mean, you might need help." Uncle Ned nodded.

"We go now," he said. Mrs. Woodard came and gave Joe a hug.

"Be careful Joe! Thieves are often dangerous!" she said.

"Don't worry Mom, I will," Joe assured her. Joe got his coat on and went out with Uncle Ned to go find Mandie and Celia. Meanwhile, the two girls had caught up to the thief, and for following him. "Come on Celia, we've got to keep up with him!" Mandie said.

"Mandie are you sure this is safe? I mean, we are following a thief you know," Celia said.

"Of course this is safe! And it's fun! I wish Joe were here! Oh and course Sallie, Tommy and Robert," Mandie said. Oh no wait! Scratch that! This is not safe!" The thief had spotted them! He was coming toward them quickly. "Celia, RUN!" They started running in the opposite direction, but he caught them.

"You won't be going anywhere, or telling anyone!" he said in a rough voice. "Your coming with me!" Mandie and Celia squirmed to get free, but his grip only tightened on their wrists and he twisted their arms. The two girls winced in pain. Mandie kept on struggling until the man twisted her arm behind her back.

"You let us go! Someone will find us! And you'll be sorry!" Mandie said angrily.

"Shut your mouth!" he yelled, and he twisted her shoulder, so that Mandie yelled in pain.

"Mandie are you alright?" Celia asked with concern. Mandie shook her head. "No, my shoulder. I think he broke it," Mandie said. "Oh! Celia it hurts! I can't move it at all."

"I'm sorry Mandie. I'm sure someone will find us soon. Hey! I just thought of something!" Celia said lowering her voice to a whisper. "I can take out my hair ribbons and toss them on the ground!" Mandie nodded. "Do it!" Celia started taking out her hair ribbons and she dropped them on the ground one by one. "There! It's done!" They finally stopped in an old abandoned ally, where Mandie and Celia's hands were tied behind their backs. Mandie's shoulder hurt terribly but she didn't complain.

Mandie felt like it had been an hour since they had stopped, (though it had only been twenty minutes) when suddenly she heard light footsteps, and an arrow shot through the air. Her face lit up, and her lips curved into a slight smile. They were saved! The thief (and his boss, who's voice sounded very familiar to Mandie) stood up. But no sooner had Uncle Ned and Joe gotten there, Mandie was pulled up, and had a gun pointed at her stomach.

"If anyone moves this girl dies!" he said. Joe's eyes widened. "Mandie," he whispered. Mandie was shaking with fear, and she closed her eyes, waiting for the shot. But it never came. Joe had quickly bent down and grabbed a large rock, and he threw it at the bandit's hand so that he dropped the gun. Joe grabbed his gun and said, "Now if either of you move you're both going to die!"

"Joe! One of them still has a gun!" Mandie screamed. Thankfully the gun only had one bullet, and the one who held it wasn't a very good aim. So when he shot it only skimmed Joe's shoulder. But that was enough to cause him to drop the gun. In all of the commotion the 'boss guy' snuck out of the back of the ally and when the other had seen that his friend was gone, he left in a hurry.

Joe's arm, though it was not a terrible was bleeding a lot. Also Mandie's shoulder was sore and numb. Uncle Ned walked over to Mandie. "Papoose hurt?" he asked. Mandie nodded.

"Yes. I think my shoulder is broken. Mandie said turning her head to her left shoulder. Uncle Ned nodded. "I get doctor. Joe stay with papooses. Untie them." He left the ally and went to get Dr. Woodard. Joe went over and untied Celia. "Thank you Joe. My wrists were getting pretty sore," she said. Joe smiled. He went over to untie Mandie but she tried moving away from him.

"No Joe. My shoulder hurts too much. It might just be better to wait for your father," Mandie said. Joe looked slightly hurt. "So what you're trying to say is I can't be gentle enough?" he said.

"No Joe. I just, well you can try but if it hurt then your going to have to wait for your father," Mandie said. Joe agreed, and he carefully untied her. Mandie looked up at Joe's shoulder now. "Oh Joe!Your shoulder! It looks awful!"

"It's really not that bad. It's just a little cut," Joe said.

"A little cut!?" Mandie repeated. "It looks more like a deep cut that will get infected if we don't do something about it!" Mandie said.

"Well let's not worry about that right now. Look! My dad's back," Joe said. Uncle Ned and Dr. Woodard came into the ally. Dr. Woodard was carrying his medical bag. He came over and examined Mandie's shoulder. "Now, does it hurt when I do this?" he asked pushing on her shoulder.  
"Yes it does!" Mandie answered. Dr. Woodard pulled up her sleeve. She winced at the movement. Her shoulder had a big bruise on it.  
"Here, can you move it?" he asked. Mandie tried to move it but stopped instantly. "No I can't. It hurts too much, and I just can't move even if it hard," she answered.  
"Yes, it does seem to be broken. I'll have to put a cast on it," Dr, Woodard said. Mandie sighed.

"Is her arm okay Dad?" Joe asked.

"It's broken but it's only a slight break. She'll be fine if she keeps her cast on for the right amount of time," he said. "Now to see about your arm."

"No Dad, worry about Mandie right now. I'm fine, and she's your patient."

"But you're also my patient. Come on now let's get going back to the house before your mother get's worried," he said. Joe finally agreed. They walked back to the house, and Joe walked beside Mandie.

"How's your arm?" he asked with a slight look of worry in his eyes.

"It's been better, but it could have been worse," Mandie answered. "How is your arm?" she asked.

"It hurts but it's definitely better than having a bullet stuck in my arm that's for sure!" Joe said said smiled. Mandie smiled back, then sighed. _"A broken arm! What a perfect early Christmas present!"_ she thought to herself.

Elizabeth was pacing in circles until she heard the front door opening. She ran to the door and threw her arms around Mandie. "Oh I'm so glad you're back!" she exclaimed. Mandie winced.

"Ow Mother! My shoulder!" Mandie said. Elizabeth looked at her strangely. "Dr. Woodard what is wrong with her shoulder?" she asked.

"Her shoulder is broken, but it's only a slight break. It will be fine in a few weeks," he answered.

"Broken! How did that happen?" Elizabeth asked.

"Well, we got captured by a thief, and so I was moving around trying to get free and the thief twisted my arm behind my back, and then I told him that someone would find us and that when they did he'd be sorry, and after I said that he twisted my arm while it was still behind my back," Mandie said all in one sentence. By now she was out of breath from talking so fast.

"Oh, I see. Well we can talk about that later. Can I see your shoulder?" she asked. Mandie nodded. She pulled up her sleeve and tried to not move her shoulder. Her shoulder was slightly swollen and it had a big purple bruise on it.

"Oh! We need to put ice on it! It's so swollen!" she said.

"It's ok Mother, it looks worse than it feels," Mandie insisted. She tried moving it forgetting that it was broken. "Ow! Well maybe it looks worse than it feels but it's still not that bad."

"Well don't move it or it will never heal," Elizabeth said.

"Don't worry I won't move it," Mandie said. Suddenly Sallie, Liza, and Polly came into the room. "Oh Mandie, Celia, I'm so glad you're both back! What happened?" Sallie asked. Mandie spent some time telling the whole story and right after she was done, the other boys came over and asked what happened and she had to tell it all over again.

"Wow! Are you alright Celia?" Robert asked.

"Yes I'm fine," Celia answered smiling.

"You two sho' had a busy day," Liza exclaimed. "I don't think I'd be able to live thro' all o'that."

"I'm glad Polly wasn't in that. She might have been hurt," Tommy said.

"I'm glad Polly wasn't in that she might have been hurt," Tommy said. Mandie raised her eyebrows. _"What's up with him? He couldn't possibly like her,"_ Mandie thought.

"I'm sure glad Mandie is alright. Without her, we wouldn't have the Christmas Eve Ball," Polly said sarcastically. Mandie rolled her eyes. _"Looks like Polly is getting back to her old self again,"_ Mandie thought. Soon supper was announced, Celia and Robert went out to dinner, and so did Sallie and Dimer. Tommy was mostly talking to Polly so Mandie was glad that she had Joe to talk to.

"So, what exactly happened out there?" Joe asked. "How did you and Celia start following him? You could have been hurt worse than you already are. If I hadn't throne the rock in time, I don't even want to think what would have happened," Joe said softly.

"Well, it's like this. We had been sitting on the porch for a long time, and then we heard Mrs. Cornwallis yelling about a thief. So we went and asked what he looked like and which way he went, and she told us not realizing what we going to do. I thought it was safe to follow him, but I shouldn't have been so stupid. He caught sight of us and took us with him. I'm just glad you were there when I needed you," Mandie said, smiling. Joe took her hand in his, and Mandie felt that something had changed, and what she didn't realize, was that her whole life would change, from then on, and forever.

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 **I hope you liked this one. I sure liked writing it! And Annefan, if you thought the last chapter was intense, what did you think of this one? If you liked it please review!**


	8. Chapter 8 Christmas Eve

The next day was bright and sunny. There was a light covering of snow on the ground and everyone was getting ready for the Christmas Eve Ball. There was food to be prepared, tables to be set, and most important of all guests would be arriving soon. Mandie was wondering about some things her mother had said. She had said that a special guest would be coming, one that she hadn't seen in a while. She was waiting impatiently the whole day for the 'special' guest, to come. But soon her waiting time was over when there was a knock on the door.

Mandie was sitting in the parlor when she heard a knock and the door, and heard her Uncle John saying, "Hello Mr. Guyer, it's nice to see you again." Mandie leaped up out of her seat and ran out to see if it really was him. "Jonathan!" Mandie exclaimed when she saw his unmistakable black curls.

"Mandie! Oh I am so glad to be here!" he said. Mandie ran and gave him a hug. "I'm glad you're here too." Mandie looked over his shoulder to see a beautiful girl with curly red-blond hair. "Who's that?" Mandie asked. Jonathan looked over.

"Oh her? She is Cynthia, she's my fiance," he said smiling. Mandie gasped.

"Your fiance? But she doesn't look older than eighteen!" Mandie exclaimed.

"So? Lots of people get married when they're eighteen, and besides, you only think it's weird because you are nineteen, and you're not married yet. In fact you shoud be married to Joe already. Everyone expects it," Jonathan said.

 _"Oh so I've heard,"_ Mandie thought.

"Alright now, would you like to go meat her? Jonathan asked. Mandie smiled.

"Of course I would!" Mandie said smiling. She walked over with Jonathan to meat Cynthia.

"Hello Jonathan. Who is this?" the girl asked sweetly. Jonathan stepped up.

"Cynthia, I would like you to meat Mandie, she's an old friend of mine. Cynthia, Mandie, Mandie, Cynthia," Jonathan said. Cynthia laughed. "It's nice to meat you Mandie. I didn't know Jonathan had so many friends." Mandie smiled and laughed.

"It's nice to meat you to Cynthia. Jonathan told me that you are his fiance," Mandie said.

"That's right. It would be nice if we could hang out today Mandie. It would be good for us to get better acquainted," she said. Mandie nodded. "You're right, but I would also like you to meat some of my friends. They're over there," Mandie said. Cynthia nodded in response.

"Alright, well I can't wait to meat them," Cynthia said. Just after a short time the two became fast friends. Soon the noon meal was ready and everyone sat down at the table. Mandie saw the Joe already din't look, happy. _"He's over possessive,"_ Mandie thought. But all was set to rights when Jonathan went over and whispered to Joe, "Don't worry Joe, I'm not here to steal Mandie, I've already got someone else." Mandie was really surprised because soon after the two became best friends.

After dinner they were about to go to the parlor, when they heard a knock on the door. Mandie stopped walking. "Wait for me guys. I'll be back in a minute," Mandie said. The others nodded and she went to the door. When she opened it she gasped in surprise. George Stuart was standing at the door. _"What's he doing here? He wasn't supposed to come! Why didn't he at least tell me?"_ Mandie thought. She hid her surprise as best as she could and tried t act mature. "Hello George. When did you get here?" she asked.

"I just got here. I told you before you left that I was coming to your house for Christmas Eve and Christmas," George said. Mandie tried her best to smile.

"Well come in, the ball isn't till tonight, I guess you could hang out with us until tonight," Mandie said. George nodded.

"Thank you Mandie. I can't wait to meat your friends. Where are they?" he asked. Mandie pointed to the parlor. She did know how this was going to turn out. "They're in the parlor. Come on, I'll show you to them." Mandie walked into the parlor while George followed her behind. Mandie stood in front of the door.

"Hey guys. I have someone from college that would like to meat you," Mandie said. They nodded.

"Okay, bring them in," Jonathan said. Mandie leaned out of of the door and whispered something. Suddenly the person came in and stood next to Mandie. "Everyone, this is George Stuart. He's a friend of mine from college." Celia's eyes widened.

"George! When did you get here?" she asked standing. Joe was looking at him jealously. The others stood up.

"It's nice to meat you George," Sallie said standing. "I'm Sallie Sweetwater."

"It's a pleasure to meat you Sallie," George said. Sallie nodded. The others introduced themselves to George and son they were in a conversation about where he lived, what his family was like and stuff like that. Mandie wasn't really paying attention. George was kind of annoying. He seemed to think that Mandie liked him. He was only a friend nothing personal.

The day went by and soon it was time to get completely ready for the ball. Mandie and Celia ran up to there room to get their dresses on. Mandie pulled off her dress and put on her white ball gown. She stepped in front of the mirror and examined herself. She gasped at her sight. She looked so mature in that dress. It made her look like a woman. Then she remembered her present for Joe and she hid it in her sash. _"There! Perfect!"_ she grabbed a brush and started to brush out her hair. She pulled some back and left the rest down. Her curly hair went down to her middle back in flowing waves. Celia walked over.

"Oh Mandie you look absolutely amazing in that dress! You look so much older! And I thought that I looked good in this dress," Celia said. Mandie smiled.

"Thank you Celia. You look gorgeous in that dress! That color green really suits you. It brings out the color of your eyes and the color hair," Mandie complimented.

"Well thank you Mandie. We should be heading down now, I'm sure the ball will start soon," she said walked to the door. Mandie nodded and followed her.

They went down stairs and went their ways. When Mandie had come down she saw Carl and Carol standing there waiting for her. When they saw her they turned and yelled excitedly, "Manda!"

"Hello you two! Come here!" she said kneeling on the ground so they could come to her. They flung themselves onto Mandie so hard that she almost fell over. "Carl! Carol, you're not a hurricane!" she said laughing. "I'm glad to see you too." Mandie gave them both a big squeeze. "Well I have to go, the ball starts soon." The twins looked at her with puzzled expressions.

"Manda, what's a ball?" they asked. Mandie put them down.

"A ball is when people get together, and boys and girls dance with each other, and wear fancy cloths. This is my ball dress," Mandie told them.

"Dats pwetty Manda. Are we gonna go to- ball?" Carol asked. Mandie smiled and shook her head. "No, you're not, well actually I don't know. You might. Now go find Mother, I have to go." Mandie stood up and went into the ball room.

She went over to where everyone was to be called out. The boys had chosen their partners secretly, so Mandie didn't know who her partner was. Mandie gasped in surprise when she saw Mary Lou there. She waved at her and silently said hi. Mary Lou waved back and smiled. Suddenly she remembered the present she had hid in her sash. She pulled it out and moved closer to Joe.

"Um, Joe, I have something for you," she said nervously. He looked at her and smiled.

"Thank you Mandie. How did you know I wanted this?" he asked. Mandie shrugged.

"I just did," Mandie said. Suddenly Jason Bond stood there and began to call out the first people. Soft music began to play as he called the first people.

"Elizabeth Shaw escorted by John Shaw..." Mandie smiled as her mother stepped out with her Uncle. "Mrs. Taft escorted by Mr. Guyer, Morningstar Sweetwater escorted by Ned Sweetwater, Sallie Sweetwater escorted by Dimer Walkingstick, Celia Hamilton escorted by Robert Rogers." Mandie smiled at her friend and whispered, "Good luck!" Celia nodded and smiled back. "Polly Cornwallis escorted by Tommy Patton, Mary Lou escorted by George Stuart, Mandie Shaw escorted by Joe Woodard..." Mandie breathed in deeply. Joe turned to her and smiled. He took her hand and brought her out into the room. It was a little bit harder to dance because she had a broken arm, but she eventually found a way to do it without hurting herself.

After a while of dancing Mandie left the room to get some fresh air. She went a grabbed her shawl and went outside. Joe went with her.

"Isn't it beautiful tonight? It was beginning to get stuffy in that ballroom," she asked. Joe nodded. "Yes it is a beautiful night. The sky is so clear. You can see all of the stars perfectly," Joe answered looking up at the sky.

"Look at the moon shining on the snow! I don't think I've ever seen anything this beautiful!" Mandie exclaimed, looking down the long stretch of pure white snow.

"I think I have," Joe said looking strait at her. Mandie blushed. Hopefully Joe couldn't see it in the dark. "What?" she asked quietly. Joe cleared his throat. "Well, it's thin, slightly short, at the top is golden, and the top of it also has two sparkling blue sapphires..."

"Joe Woodard! Come on stop it! I'm not really that pretty," Mandie said. Joe smiled. "But you are that pretty." Mandie fiddled with her dress.

"Well I think I'd better head inside..." Mandie paused as she started to get up. Joe grabbed her hand. "Wait! I haven't given you your gift!" he said reaching into his pocket. Mandie stopped and looked at him. He slowly pulled out a beautifully designed box.

"Oh Joe! This is the most beautiful thing that anyone has ever given me!" Mandie said. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Thank you."

"I'm glad that you like it. It's for your locket. The one your father got for you. I thought you could use it to keep it safe," Joe said. Mandie smiled.

"Oh I will! I will! Whenever I use it I'll think of Father, and you," Mandie said. "Did you like what I got you? I know it doesn't really compare to anything the other girls got..."

"No Mandie I do like it, I really do. It doesn't really matter what you got me, as long as it's from you," he answered.

"Well why don't we go inside now? It's getting cold anyway," she said rubbing her hands together. Joe nodded in agreement and they headed inside. When they got there Jonathan ran to meat them.

"Where have you guys been? I've been looking all over for you! Celia told me that you had found a mystery. She said that you would be the best one to tell it," Jonathan said. Mandie mentally face palmed herself.

"Sorry Jonathan. I meant to tell you and Cynthia, it just got so busy and." Jonathan stopped her. "It's okay Mandie, we understand. Now what is the mystery?" Mandie began to tell the tale of the new mystery that they had found from the beginning to the most recent events.

"And that," Mandie ended with. "is why I have a cast on."

"Wow! That's really, amazing! How are you going to solve it?" Cynthia asked. Mandie rested her hand on her chin.

"Well,I have solved how many mysteries?" She started counting in her head. "About 41 mysteries in all, and if I solve this one it will be 42."

"Yes, and I've helped with some of them," Jonathan said proudly.

"My first mystery I got when I was twelve," she said.

"Wow! And you still get mysteries?" Cynthia asked. Mandie nodded. "Apparently. I can't believe we've solved every one of them! I hope that we solve this one," Mandie said thoughtfully.

"Well I'm going back in there. They're serving chocolate cake!" he said slyly. Mandie and Joe looked at each other. "Chocolate cake!" they said at the same time. They ran back into the ball room, which I might add is not a very mature thing to do. After they had gotten their cake Mandie was admiring the musical jewelry box that Joe had given her when suddenly she thought of something.

"Joe, I can put this jewelry box to use right now. I have my locket on." She reached to the locket on her neck and pulled it off and put it into the box. When she opened it beautiful music started to play.

"I'm glad that you can. I just hope I don't kneed to use this knife anytime soon for anything too serious," Joe said. She smiled.

"Don't worry Joe. I don't think you'll have to use it to save your life," she said laughing, not realizing that she was foreshadowing what would happen later on.

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 **Sorry that I kept you all waiting! And also sorry that this was a cliff hanger. But sometimes cliff hangers are fun right? Please review.**


	9. Chapter 9 My Answer Is No!

Everyone had stayed up late the night before and had slept in the next morning. But it didn't matter, it was Christmas morning! The night before had been Christmas Eve so that was why they had all stayed up so late. It was around nine o'clock in the morning when Celia woke. She looked around. Mandie was still asleep. She couldn't let Mandie sleep through this day! She moved over and shook Mandie awake.

"Mandie wake up! It's nine a.m.! And it's also Christmas I thought you should know," Celia said jokingly. Mandie sat up and stretched.

"Mmm! Okay, I'm awake. I can't believe it's Christmas day! It seems like it's been years since last Christmas! But it's finally here." Mandie sighed happily. "But it's still cold, and look it's snowing! That's perfect! Snow on Christmas is the best thing ever!" the blond girl exclaimed. Celia nodded.

"I think this is going to be the best Christmas ever! But we better get dressed or we'll miss breakfast. If we haven't already," she said hopping off of the bed. Mandie nodded and rolled out of bed. She ran to the closet and pulled out a dark red dress with a green sash. She slipped her nightgown off and and buttoned up her dress. Snowball walked in front of her and meowed loudly.

"Aww! I'm sorry Snowball You're probably hungry," she said picking him up. "I love you Snowball. I have been neglecting you lately haven't I?" she asked burying her face in his soft white fur.

"Come on Mandie we have to go down now!" Celia said walking over to the door. Mandie followed her out with Snowball in her arms. They ran down stairs to meat everyone in the dinning room.

"Hey sleepy heads! You guys were sleeping like rocks!" Sallie laughed. "Merry Christmas you two!" she said and brought them into a group hug.

"Merry Christmas to you too!" Celia said happily. "Also I have to tell you something important. Yesterday Robert well, proposed to me." Mandie and Sallie gasped and stopped so suddenly that they almost knocked Liza over.

"Hey! What you think you doin' almost knockin' a person over like dat?" Liza asked regaining her balance. They laughed. "Sorry Liza, we'll try to be more careful," Mandie answered. Liza nodded. "Well you better be," she said and walked off. They turned back to Celia.

"Really? That's great! I'm so happy for you!" Mandie exclaimed and they went back into the hug. "Well I have to go drop Snowball off in the kitchen. I will meet you guys back at breakfast.' Mandie picked up Snowball and hurried into the kitchen with Snowball.

They hurriedly finished breakfast, because all of them were excited about unwrapping presents. Even if they were older now they were still looking forward to seeing what there friends had gotten them. After Mandie had finished she went upstairs to get her presents. She looked to make sure they were all there.

"Ok, I think I've got everyone's presents here," Mandie said to herself as she got them all up into her arms. She hurried downstairs and laid them neatly under the tree. She stood back to admire the tree. It looked so beautiful with all the presents under it! That was one of the best things to see on Christmas. Everyone would be coming in soon for her Uncle John to read the Christmas Story so Mandie just decided to sit down and wait.

Soon everyone had joined in the parlor and were seated in the room. Mandie's uncle started reading. Mandie listened quietly. She loved hearing the story of Jesus' birth. It was such a special thing that the Savior came into the world as a baby. There was nothing better than hearing of it happen.

after he had finished reading it was time for them to open presents. Carl and Carol dived into theirs' like little animals. This made Mandie laugh. Everyone had a lot of fun unwrapping presents, but Mandie's favorite part of this was giving the presents to her friends and family rather than receiving them.

After they had finished unwrapping presents and had cleaned up the mess it was time for them to eat Christmas dinner. "I'm starving!" Mandie exclaimed taking a piece of ham off of the serving plate. She scooped some mashed potatoes onto her plate as well.

"Me too!" Joe answered dishing some piling the food on his plate. Mandie laughed. "You are always hungry Joe!" They both laughed. They started eating their food. After they were finished some people had to leave. Which was Tommy, Robert, and Jonathan. Mandie said good-bye to Robert, Jonathan, and Tommy, and she gave George a hug.

"Good-bye George. I'll see you when I go back to college," Mandie said. George nodded. "Good-bye to you to Mandie. I'll be longing the days away until you get back," he said. Why did he have to be so sure that she liked him? "Well I'll see you soon. Bye George." George nodded and walked out the door. After he left Joe came to Mandie and took her hand.

"Mandie I think we need to talk," he said taking her into the parlor. "Joe what the..." "Mandie, just come." He took her into the parlor and they sat down. "Mandie I saw you hug that guy George. And I don't think that, that is appropriate for you to do when you are supposed to marrying me," Joe said as calmly as possible.

"Well the fact is, that I am not married to you and that was a good-bye hug. And besides, when did I ever say that I was going to marry you?" Mandie asked. Joe bent his head.  
"Once, a long time ago. But what is your answer now Mandie? If it isn't yes then I'll die!" Joe said. This time Mandie lost it.  
"Well then you will have to die! Because my answer is no!" she yelled angrily. Joe stood up.  
"Fine! I will! I'm going outside into the blizzard!" Joe said opening the door without even putting his coat on.  
"But Joe! You still have a cold and you'll freeze!"  
"Well what do you care? You just told me that I could die!" He went outside and slammed the door. Mandie started to cry. "Dear God please don't let him die out there!" Mandie prayed. "If he does then it's all my fault!" Mandie waited for a long while hoping that Joe would come back but he never did. she got up and walked out of the room. She was walking out of the parlor when she bumped into Dr. Woodard.

"Hello Mandie have you seen Joe? I can't seem to find him anywhere," Dr. Woodard asked. Mandie hesitated.

"Um... I think I know," she said slowly. "It's all my fault that he's gone! I don't know what got into me!" Mandie said her voice trembling.

"Well tell me what happened. We can't fix anything until I know exactly what happened," he said. Mandie swallowed hard.

"He now wants to die because of me because of how I acted and I don't know what to do!" Mandie exclaimed and at the end her voice broke.

"I see. Did he ask?" Dr. Woodard asked. She nodded. "He did, and he said that if I didn't say yes he would die, and I was mad and I said no, out of spite. I don't know why I can't just act mature and stop acting like such a child. Now he's out in the blizzard probably frozen to death by now!" The tears were streaming down her face and she was crying uncontrollably.

"Shh, calm down Mandie. We'll find him. It's not your fault he tends to overreact." He put his arm around her and brought her back into the parlor. Just then Celia walked in.

"Hey Mandie I was going to, why Mandie, what's wrong?" Celia asked as she noticed her friend was crying. She came over and sat down by her.

"It's all my fault! Joe went out in a blizzard and now I'm afraid he might freeze!" she blurted out. Celia patted her back.

"What happened?" Celia asked. Mandie tried to control herself. "He proposed to me, and i didn't except but that's not really the reason I was so mean about it. And now he said he was gonna go die," she explained.

"It's okay Mandie, I'm sure they'll find him," Celia encouraged. Mandie stopped crying. "And what if they don't?"  
"I don't know Mandie, I really don't know," she said.

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 **Mandie said no. Ahhh! What's gonna happen?**

 **Now Joe wants to die. Will they find him?**

 **Hope you enjoyed**

 **Please review**


	10. Chapter 10 Searching and Loosing

**OFF HIATUS! I am so sorry that I made y'all wait like that! I had this on hiatus because I was writing four fanfics at the same time so it was just too much. But I am back now and here is the chapter!**

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Soon the men went out to look for Joe. The first place that they were going to look was the woods. If Joe wanted to get lost that would probably be the first place he'd go. They didn't know for sure though, because there were no footprints in the snow because of the blizzard. New snow had fallen over them.

"Mandie said that we should start looking in the woods," Dr. Woodard was saying. Wind was whipping around them, and the snow was falling fast and hard, and they could barely see where they were going. If Joe was out here, their chances of finding him, were ten to one, and if he was still alive, was even less likely. In this blizzard you could die in the first hour if you didn't know what to do. At least Joe had grown up in the country,so he new how to handle snow. But being caught out in a blizzard? Who knows.

"Well this blizzard isn't helping any. We won't be able to see his footprints, that is if he did go this way," John answered. They continued to walk on without a word for a long time but there was never any signs of Joe. They searched on branches to see if any of his cloths had ripped but they found nothing. They were just about ready to give up. Suddenly Ned took them over to a spot.

"Footprints. Here. May be Joe's," the old indian said. John put his hand on Uncle Ned's shoulder. "Thank goodness for your sharp eyes Ned!" he exclaimed. They started following them, hoping that they would find something before the tracks got covered up. They probably followed them for about an hour before giving up.

"I don't think we will ever find him. Let's go out again tomorrow. Maybe the blizzard will have stopped by then,"John said. Dr. Woodard sighed.

"You're probably right. I just hope he makes it through the night," he said. They turned their backs to the tracks and started heading home.

Meanwhile, the women were sitting in parlor anxiously waiting for the men to return. No one had really said much since they left, and Mandie hadn't said anything at all. She still felt really guilty about what she had said. Why did she always have to act like such a child? No more! She was going to be responsible. She was going to act her age, and most importantly she was going to think before acting.

They had been looking out the windows for a long time, when Liza came in and told them that supper was ready. Mandie sighed and got up. "Don't you worry Miss Mandie. I's sho' dat yo Joe'll be back. I knows dat he will," Liza said as Mandie passed by. Mandie nodded. "I hope so," she said. Mandie sat down to supper but could barely eat a thing. She just picked at her food with her fork.

"Amanda you have to eat something. It will make you feel better," Elizabeth said. Mandie sighed.

"I know. It's just, hard. I was such a child to act like that. I am sorry, to all of you," she said. Celia hugged her friend. "It's okay Mandie. We all loose our tempers sometimes. It's okay," Celia said. Mandie nodded.

"Well at least try to eat something Amanda, okay?" she said. Mandie sighed and tried to eat some of her food. Just before they had finished their food the men arrived back. Elizabeth immediately stood up.

"Oh John I am so glad you're back!" she said, and they embraced. "Did you find him?" she asked. John shook his head. "No, we searched almost everywhere. We're going to look again tomorrow," he said. She sighed. They looked over and saw the upset look on Mandie's face.

That night Mandie couldn't sleep. She kept feeling like she heard a voice telling her that she had to find Joe. When Snowball started growling at the dark she knew that she had too. She got up out of bed and slipped off her nightgown and changed into her warmest dress. _I just have to do this,_ Mandie thought. She went downstairs and put on her boots, hat, and gloves and headed out the door to look for Joe herself.

In the morning Celia woke up. She went over to Mandie's bed. "Mandie it's time to get u- Mandie?" Celia looked around. Mandie wasn't there. Her nightgown was throne sloppily on the ground. _This isn't like her,_ Celia thought. She went downstairs.

"Hey Liza have you seen Mandie?" Celia asked. Liza shook her head. "No'p haven't seen her since she went to bed," Liza answered. Celia nodded. She asked everyone but no one had seen her. Not a single person. Soon people started to get worried.

"First Joe, now Amanda, who else is going to go missing? I was up when she went to bed so how could she have gone now?" Elizabeth asked.

"Unless she left in the night while everyone was asleep," Celia said. They nodded. "She feels like it's her fault that he left," she said.

"Why does she feel that way?" Mrs. Taft asked. Celia shrugged. "She didn't say yes to his proposal," Dr. Woodard said.

"Aw, the poor girl. It's not her fault that he left, not at all. Joe can loose it sometimes. Especially with things like that," Mrs. Woodard said. "Well I would understand why he would feel that way. I mean, he asked her when he was fourteen. He's been waiting for her actual answer all his life. And now it's not what he wanted," John said. "Well I suppose you're right. But let's stop worrying about that right now, we need to find Mandie, and my son," she said.

The men got ready again and soon went out into the freezing cold snow to find Mandie, and Joe. Elizabeth looked worriedly out the window. "Dear God, please protect my daughter if she is out there. And protect Joe. Don't let them die out there," she prayed. The women all sat down together and prayed for them. It was the only thing that they could do.


	11. Chapter 11 Found

**I am so sorry that I haven't updated in so long! I hope I haven't lost anyone in the wait.**

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Mandie walked through the cold snowy forest as the sun slowly rose. Yet she could not see the sun because dark clouds filled the sky and snow blew swiftly past her. The wind was bitterly cold, and Mandie's whole body felt numb and cold. But she kept on going, even when she felt like her strength was failing. She needed to find Joe, even if it was the last thing she did. The snow blowing in front of her eyes practically blinded her, and she had to use her hands to find her way the ever-falling snow. The wind bit through her coat and her gloves, and stung her very soul. But the worst pain of, wasn't the snow blowing into her eyes, or the freezing wind that seeped through her cloths. It was the pain of losing the best friend she had ever known. Losing Joe. And it was this pain that pushed ever-on. Even through the horribly cold conditions. Finally, she was so exhausted that she had to rest.

"I'll never find him! It's impossible!" she cried into her arms. "Why did I have to act like that?" She buried her head in her arms as she sat on a rock. Then she suddenly remembered something. "What time I am afraid I will put my trust in thee. Please God, keep Joe alive a little longer, if he isn't already dead," she prayed. She stood up, filled with a knew strength. She kept on running and she was running so fast that she almost fell into a pit. She screamed and jumped back. But then she noticed something. She went down on her knees and bent down to look in the pit.

"J-joe!" she screamed. Joe was at the bottom of the pit unconscious. "Joe, please stay with us for a little longer. I'll get help!" She stood up and ran all the way back following her tracks before they were covered by the thickly falling snow. While she was running she bumped into her Uncle John.

"Uncle John!" she said embracing him. He hugged her back. "Oh Amanda we've been so worried! What were you thinking?" he asked. "I found Joe. But we need to hurry and get him. He could already be dead!" she cried. He nodded. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. Doc, Ned, come on, Mandie says she found Joe." They followed Mandie through the frozen forest until they got to the pit.

"Ned, go get some blankets. And hurry. We don't have much time," Dr. Woodard said. Uncle Ned nodded and ran back to the house.

The women were anxiously waiting for the men to return, hopefully with Mandie, when suddenly the door swung open and Uncle Ned came in. Elizabeth walked up to him. "Oh Ned, what's wrong?" she asked as he hurried past her.  
"No time. Explain later," he answered shortly and came out with blankets and headed out the door. Elizabeth looked after him with a worried expression on her face.

Uncle Ned got back with the blankets and laid them down on the ground. Uncle John went climbed down into the pit and carried Joe back up. He laid him down on the blanket and they lifted him up, and carried him back to the house. The opened the door and went inside.

"Your back! What happened?" Elizabeth asked as she embraced Mandie. "I went out to find Joe last night. I had to. And I found him," Mandie said. Elizabeth hugged her daughter tighter. "Don't worry Mandie, I am sure he will be fine," she said. Mandie left and went into the parlor where her friends were waiting.

"Mandie!" Celia exclaimed and ran over and hugged her tightly. "I thought you were lost forever!" she said. Mandie hugged her back. "Well, I am back, and I wasn't lost. I went looking for Joe," she answered. Sallie ran over and embraced Mandie. "Oh Mandie! I am so glad you are okay! How is Joe?" she asked with a worried expression on her face.  
"I think he'll be fine. I hope he will. All we can do is pray," Mandie said. Celia nodded. "Then why don't we do that now?" she asked quietly. They all nodded and sat down clasping each other's hands. Thy bowed their heads and each said their own prayer for Joe. Mandie was happy that she had friends like these. They always helped her in times of trouble. But her happiness went to sadness when it was possible that she could lose her very best friend of all time.

They had been sitting in the parlor waiting for about an hour for a report on Joe. Finally, Dr. Woodard came in the room. Mandie slowly rose. "So?" she asked shortly. Dr. Woodard nodded. "You may see him now. He has a very bad case of pneumonia. He's still unconscious but I have everything in order," he said. Mandie nodded. Her friends started to stand to follow her but Dr. Woodard stopped them. "Let her have some time by herself," he said. They nodded understanding completely.

Mandie slowly and quietly up the stairs and came to Liza. "In here Miss Mandie," she said opening the door to a room. Mandie nodded and went in as quietly as possible. Liza closed the door and Mandie went over to the bed that Joe was laying on. His skin was sickly pale, and his breathing was sharp and horse. Mandie pushed some of his brown hair out of his face. She drew her hand back startled at the burning heat of his skin. Her eyes filled up with tears at the sight of him.  
"Oh Joe!" she cried. She buried her face in her arms, and cried for a while, but when she realized it was no use crying she looked up and whipped the tears off of her face. She stood up and leaned over the bed and kissed Joe on the cheek. She could have sworn she saw some of the color come back to his face. She smiled and grabbed hand and squeezed it. "Get well Joe," she whispered.


	12. Chapter 12 Love

It had been two days and still no change in Joe. He had woken up and few times, but then it was hard for him to breathe. They had a couple of close calls. Mandie was really worried. "Dr. Woodard, will Joe… Will Joe live?" she asked. He sighed but then smiled.

"Yes, he will," he said. She put on a fake smile. Something in his voice, and the look on his face told her, that he was lying. But she put the thought aside and figured it was just stress over his son. But she still wondered…  
The next day Joe was awake again and Mandie went to see him. She hadn't since three days ago. She went into the room as quietly as possible. "Hey Joe. I am glad to see you are awake," she said nervously.

"Hi Mandie. I-," she cut him off. "Joe I am so sorry for everything! I shouldn't have acted like that at all. I was so immature! Can you ever forgive me?" she pleaded. He managed a weak smile.

"Mandie I already forgave you. I was going to ask you to forgive me. I overreacted. It's not like your life is mine. I can't make your decisions for you," he said. Mandie was surprised. "You actually saved my life Mandie. And not by just coming and finding me, but the knife you gave me, I was able to use to cut roots and make a small fire so I wouldn't freeze." She hugged him.

"Oh Joe! I've been so worried about you! I didn't think you were gonna live it was so cold!" Mandie exclaimed. Joe smiled. "Well now thanks to you I will get better," he said. Mandie smiled and squeezed his hand.

For the next few days Joe got better and better. Finally, he was able to get out of bed and walk around. Him and Mandie spent a lot of their spare time together. The others had gone home, and soon Joe had to as well. But he soon came back for a visit. There was a little time when it got strangely warm in winter and they were able to go outside. One day, just before New Year's Day, Joe called Mandie and asked her to take a walk with him outside. She gladly accepted and they went out into the garden, which was now bland and brown from the constant cold.

They walked a little bit for a while without talking, and Mandie wanted to break the silence so she said, "It's beautiful outside isn't it?"  
"Yes it is. It's really warm for being winter isn't it?" he asked. Mandie smiled and nodded. They kept walking until Joe stopped her. "Mandie, stop for a second," he said. She turned to face him.

"Yes Joe?" she asked. He took a deep breath. He looked really nervous. "I know I already asked you this, but." He suddenly got down on his knees and grabbed her hand. "Mandie, will you make me the happiest man alive and be my wife?" he asked. She smiled. "Yes Joe. I will," she answered. His whole face lit up as he stood. Then he stroked a stray hair behind her ear, pulled her closer to him, and they kissed. But what they didn't know was that everyone in the house was secretly watching them.

"I knew dat dey would come thro'. I jest knew it!" Liza exclaimed.

"I'm so glad they did. My daughter is going to be married!" Elizabeth exclaimed. Mrs. Woodard smiled and nodded.  
"And my son," she answered. They stood there, looking out at the new couple before them.

 **The End**

 **I hope you all enjoyed! I really liked writing it! Thanks for sticking with me! Sorry it's short.**


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